Consolidation weighs on educators' mindsBy Melissa Nelson Associated Press writer EUREKA SPRINGS (AP) - Disputes about school consolidation have to be resolved before Arkansas can tackle major school reforms, rural superintendents and legislators said Tuesday. But moving beyond the emotion-filled consolidation issue continues to prove difficult, speakers said during the second day of the Arkansas Rural Education Association's summer conference. Many of the 175 rural Arkansas school ...

Tech dean receives counseling awardArkansas Tech University's Danette Heckathorn, associate dean of students and counselor, was recently honored for her dedication to practicing counseling with the Licensed Association Counselor of the Year Award at the Arkansas Mental Health Counselors Association conference held in Searcy. Heckathorn received the award after displaying her passion for counseling through increased counseling services offered to Tech students her past two years...

Arkansas Tech receives $1.1 million program grantBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Arkansas Tech Univeristy was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant to offer a new service to area high school students. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Math and Science Upward Bound program, a program that targets high school students from low-income families and/or students in a home where neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. According to Dr. David Underwood, T...

Governor: Few options left, school plan won't destroy rural ArkansasBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Area business, education and civic leaders were on hand at Arkansas Tech University Thursday to hear Gov. Mike Huckabee's views on his education reform bill. While in Russellville for the dedication of the new Lake Dardanelle State Park visitor center, the governor took time to meet with the more than 180 invited guests in an educational forum hosted by Tech. Huckabee began by giving those present a li...

Changes made in personnel by Russellville School BoardBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Like all school districts in the area, the Russellville School District handled a number of personnel matters during its monthly school board meeting Tuesday. Resignations The board accepted the following classified staff resignations. Amanda Sanner, aide at Russellville Middle School; Denise Standridge, aide at Sequoyah Elementary School; Lawarene Peterson, district custodian; Roger Duvall, district b...

School board backs refinancingBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Members of the Russellville School Board took steps Tuesday that will allow the district to save more than $315,000 on a previously funded bond issue. The board declared Stephens Inc. as the fiscal agent for the refunding, but also agreed to let Stephens bid on the refunding. The board was able to chose the method of payment from two options. The first option, recommended by Superintendent Danny Taylor...

Dover board fills staff positionsBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com The Dover School Board hired several new staff during a meeting on Monday. The board hired Susan Majors to fill the position vacated by Donna Waldo, who will be taking a leave of absence. The board also hired Dennis Smith to teach high school math and Charla Bicknell to teach fourth grade. The board also filled three classified staff positions. Letty Gunter will fill a full time position in the cafeter...

James Bell dies; former county school officialBy Mark Scott government@couriernews.com A longtime educator and supporter of area music and athletic programs died Sunday at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center. James C. Bell, the Pope County school supervisor for 22 years and a former principal at Dardanelle and Atkins, was 86. His funeral will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Central Presbyterian Church in Russellville. Bell succeeded his father, the late Neill H. Bell, as the supervisor of county...

Atkins board accepts renovation bidsThe Atkins School Board accepted bids for the renovation of the fine arts building during their meeting on Tuesday. The board voted to accepts a bid from Cheek Plumbing of $4,497.78 for the plumbing portion of the project; a bid from Race Carpet of $7,113.88 to repair the carpet; and a bid from Jim Johnston of $5,570 for painting. Superintendent Al Davidson discussed the upcoming special election on June 17th that is needed to bring the distri...

School panel begins work on adequacyBy James Jefferson Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Educators and business leaders began shaping their suggestions for the ideal school to provide Arkansas students with an adequate education Wednesday amid complaints that their meetings were closed to the public. Cost and consolidation weren't on the table, group members said, although the 500-student model school that consultants used as the basis for discussion encouraged some opp...

Tech selects new registrarBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Arkansas Tech University has named a new registrar, and she is no stranger to the Tech campus. Dr. Jack Hamm, vice president for academic affairs, recently announced that Tammy Rhodes will replace Dr. Glenn Sheets, who last month was named Dean of the School of Education. She will assume the new role on July 1. Since 1984, Rhodes has worked in various capacities at Tech. For eight years she was an admi...

Top slots fill quickly at school districtsBy Melissa Nelson Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - School districts say that despite uncertainty about the future of education funding in Arkansas, they aren't having problems filling vacant superintendent positions. Among the 10 Arkansas districts looking to fill top slots is the state's largest, the 25,000-student Little Rock School District. The 3,500-student Helena-West Helena School District also has a vacant superintendent's po...

Ola special election set to adjust school millageThe Ola School District will hold a special election June 10 in order to come into compliance with a recent state Supreme Court ruling. The court interpreted Amendment 74 as requiring each district to have a minimum of 25 actual Maintenance and Operation (M and O) mills. A district can no longer allow excess debt service millage to count towards the 25 M and O mill requirement. In order to meet this requirement with the least adverse financial...

State educators see cautionary tale in TexasBy Kelly Wiese Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Educators in Arkansas said Friday that a court battle in Texas over its attempts to provide students an adequate education are an example of what not to do in this state. The Texas Supreme Court has revived a challenge to a state law that requires wealthier school districts to give money to poorer ones, sending a case back to a trial court. The 8-1 decision Thursday overruled two lower ...

Student policies altered at DoverBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Several changes have been made to the student handbooks of all four schools in the Dover School District. The changes were introduced by Dan Lovelady, Dover superintendent, during Tuesday's Dover School Board meeting. Lovelady reported that no requests or comments were made regarding the proposed changes during the 30-day comment period. The changes discussed include: Middle and High School - grades 5-...

Dardanelle schools OK insuranceBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com DARDANELLE - A bid for the kindergarten through 12th grade student insurance policy was approved by the Dardanelle School Board at a special meeting Tuesday night. The bid of $10,500 from All School Student Insurance, a division of UICI, which is a secondary insurance supplement for any injury that occurs to a student of the district. When asked if it was a separate insurance policy from athletics, Superi...

Teacher raise proposal fails in DoverBy Regina Smith education@couriernews.com A 3 percent raise proposed by the Personnel Policy Committee of the Dover School District died for lack of a motion during the Dover School Board meeting Tuesday. The PPC proposed six policy revisions during the meeting. No action was taken on three of those policies due to lack of motion, including the proposal outlining the reason for a raise and a salary step revision for teachers. All three issues ...

Good deeds rewarded in Dardanelle classesBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com DARDANELLE - The sixth graders at Dardanelle Elementary School participated in an event they have been looking forward to all school year on Thursday - the Sixth Grade Auction - in the Elementary School cafeteria. The students receive Sand Dollars throughout the year to earn a ranking from No. 1 to No. 24 in the sixth grade classes of approximately 135 students. The six teachers paired up into teams of tw...

Cyclone broadcast rights net $36,000By Regina Smith education@couriernews.com Sports fans in the Russellville area will be able to follow their favorite Cyclone teams on River Valley Radio for the next three years. Members of the Russellville School Board granted a proposal Tuesday, submitted by River Valley Radio for the radio broadcast rights to the district. River Valley Radio submitted a bid for $12,000 per year for the next three years. Included in the proposal was a stipul...